Report: FIFA, UEFA Presidents Accused at World Court of Aiding Israeli Settlements

Human rights NGOs and advocacy groups reported the presidents of FIFA and UEFA to the International Criminal Court for allegedly aiding Israeli war crimes by enabling the country's settlement enterprise, The New York Times reported.

The complaint, which was sent to the world court's Prosecutor's Office on Monday, cites FIFA's and UEFA's "inclusion of Israeli football clubs based in illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territory that were built on land stolen from Palestinian people."

FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin are reportedly accused of "aiding ... crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territory," saying the organization normalizes Israel's "illegal occupation of Palestine" and "the transfer of civilian population into occupied territories contrary to the Rome Statute."

The two sports organizations "permit these clubs to play in leagues organized by the Israel Football Association and host matches on the seized land," the pro-Palestinian advocacy groups reportedly said.

The complaint also said the sports organizations and their presidents "assist with the conduct of...criminal activities," saying they aid and abet Israeli apartheid as "Palestinians are not allowed to enter the matches as spectators, play for, or become managers of, the illegal settlement clubs."

According to The New York Times, the groups that filed the complaint include Irish Sport for Palestine, Scottish Sport for Palestine, Just Peace Advocates, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and Sport Scholars for Justice in Palestine.

During the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said FIFA will raise $75 million for projects in the Gaza Strip. "I think [FIFA's initiatives in Gaza] are soccer-related, where you're doing fields and you're getting the greatest stars in the world to go there," Trump said.

On Sunday, Israel's cabinet allocated 244 million shekels ($79 million) for registering ownership of 15 percent of the land in the West Bank's Area C, which is under Israeli control, within the next five years.

If the residents can't prove they own the land, it will be registered as state-owned.

Experts believe that the measure will result in many Palestinians being dispossessed of their land, because they will struggle to prove ownership. Under the resolution, the cabinet instructed ministers and the IDF Central Command commander to authorize the Justice Ministry to carry out the measure.

According to Israeli NGO Peace Now, the cabinet decision will lead to "massive dispossession of Palestinians from most of their land in Area C and the declaration [of the land] as state-owned."

Matan Golan, Ben Samuels and Liza Rozovsky have contributed to this report.

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